Impeachment in 2019

Note: Since the writing of this article in April, my view has changed due to Trump’s phone call with the Ukraine President where he, without a doubt, implicated himself and, in my opinion, broke the law and the Constitution. I now support impeachment to go forward swiftly. It isn’t that Trump did not break the law before, but it wasn’t at a point where public opinion could be persuaded in my opinion. I believe that has changed.

I unequivocally support Speaker Pelosi’s position on not impeaching Trump at this time and to slow it way down on any enthusiasm to do so. As of today, April 24, 2019, she has not moved on that viewpoint. I hope she stays there. Not only is it the correct strategy for the Democratic Party, but far more importantly, I believe it is the best direction for the good of our nation as well, and this is not a close call. I’ll explain.

In my opinion, Trump has only acted Presidential in a handful of ways, and I believe most see and understand this. Most of the time, he behaves in a way that is completely unfit for a President, and many times, he acts like a little “temper tantrum throwing” spoiled brat. He is far worse than a rebellious child throwing unbridled temper tantrums most of the time. He has operated that way from the very beginning. So, many argue, shouldn’t he be impeached? From a moral standpoint, absolutely! That is without question! He deserves it for many, many mounting reasons.

But should he be impeached from a practical and “best interest of our nation” point of view?

Emphatically, I argue, NO! Not at this time, regardless of what is found in investigations. It is simply the wrong time for such a move. This is not an imperative upon the Democratic Party at all. In 2019, one year prior to the 2020 elections, I believe impeachment is a very high-risk political gamble for the Democratic Party, but far more importantly, it would not be in America’s best interest. Such a move is very risky for our nation at this time. Does he deserve it? Absolutely! But he is literally daring the House to impeach because he believes, and is probably correct, he would be able to use such a move against the truth and against the Party that impeached him, and it provides many options for him to use against our democracy to further deteriorate it.

Impeachment is NOT in the best interest of our nation

Impeachment could be one of the worst disasters for our nation and for ALL democracies around the world if the following scenario occurs: The House of Representatives impeaches President Trump. Complicit McConnell and the majority of Republicans do not convict him. Both of these are completely predictable and would likely be a most certain outcome. In the meantime, the Democratic Party continues to move far left, or Trump successfully uses impeachment as an issue to gain ground over even a moderate Democratic candidate, should they win the primary. So Trump wins re-election because he is a liar and deceiver and he used the divisiveness of impeachment itself to stir up over half the country his direction because he is simply the best deceiver our nation has right now. He is an all-star liar! So, people choose to vote him in as President for a second term in spite of the impeachment. Essentially, he wins he battleground states again.

We now have an impeached President who was voted in by one half of Congress as unfit for office, but voted into office by the American voters for a second term, and we have a divided 5-4 Supreme Court split to boot and a completely divided Congress. What could be a worse disaster for the polarization of our nation than that? Do we want a civil war in this nation?? Trump, the wannabe, would certainly welcome it! And we would be almost begging for it if we continue in this direction and the worst case occurs. Impeaching Trump could end in one of the worst possible Constitutional Crises in our history, far worse by a multiplied factor than we already have now. It could even be worse than the civil war because there is no Abraham Lincoln to stop it! No! We have, instead, a Vladimir Putin wannabe! This could be one of the most destructive outcomes for our democracy and may provide the final force necessary to shred it apart altogether, especially with Trump in the helm once again, who has made it emphatically clear that he has the intent to destroy democracy and become the dictator of America!

Could such a move be the final straw holding our democracy together? Does anyone else see this? Trump could and likely would use any and all his power to seize upon the new ultimate Constitutional divisions to tear, rip, and shred our democracy into a million pieces if that worst case scenario were to occur. Meanwhile, the real Putin crawls up to our back door just south of Mexico and in addition, climbs in bed with Cuba. This is beyond an extremely high risk scenario for our nation! We must think before we act, seriously! I’m very concerned such a disaster could bring us closer to the point of a final great divide that tips America over the edge and splits our government apart, literally. And all we have to do is read history and understand this is how dictators really do take over normal democratic societies in the real world, America! It is such dangerous waters we tread right now! This is NOT a joke. This is NOT a time to be sleeping. It is NOT worth the risk right now, not until the Democratic Party KNOWS the outcome of the unknown variables. There are too many unknowns right now.

Speaker Pelosi is making the absolute correct move and the young, zealous Democrats, I believe, should learn from her years of wisdom and emulate her mindset. She knows what she is doing and is acting as a true American Patriot on this issue! I know some don’t like her, but frankly, she is the star of the Team right now!

At this point, my friends, this isn’t about the Democratic Party!
This is risking our entire nation!
Forget Democrat and Republican and the political strategies about impeachment!
That is completely unimportant in comparison to the big picture. I will discuss
strategy below, but in comparison to the risk for our nation, it is NOT
important.

I hear the argument being put forth that if the evidence points toward impeachment, the House has a moral imperative to follow through and impeach. I believe that is a very short-sighted view of the “obligation”. The holistic view is that each member of Congress is commissioned to act in the best interest of our nation in all things. That is the highest moral imperative for every member of Congress. Therefore, if the best interest of our nation is to NOT impeach even if the evidence supports it, Congress should NOT impeach.

It is very easy for us to focus on the letter of the law and neglect the ultimate potential risks and outcomes. I believe we need to think about worst case scenarios that have the power to damage or completely destroy our democracy and act accordingly, especially since we have a wannabe dictator lying in wait to pounce the moment he gets a chance. We should never lunge after the here and now as though we will somehow win a touchdown for the Party. That is near-sighted vision at best, pure ideological selfishness at worst. Even if our cause is just, the timing of our actions can make the most just cause selfish. We don’t want to do that now. Our nation cannot afford this.

And keep in mind right now, there is NO intent in this section to cast judgment on anyone who wants to impeach at all. Anyone who has any view of what is happening wants impeachment. I want impeachment. But I want him out of office more than I want impeachment because, as it stands, that simply won’t do it because we have ONE roadblock to what True Patriotic Americans desiring to save our democracy want: Complicit McConnell. Because of him, we should pause and think for a moment.

Democrats wanting impeachment still have the high moral ground

And let us remember, JUST because certain Democrats are the ones pushing strongly for impeachment, they are doing it out of zeal for what they know should happen in a normal world.

But this is NOT a normal world situation right now. We have a volatile democracy and everyone in Congress who cares for it should treat it as such right now. Republican leadership, especially Complicit McConnell, apparently couldn’t care less for the state of our volatile nation, because they seem to be willing to allow this issue to tear at our Democracy even though they would have full power to stop it any time they want! Although the gavel is in the Democrat’s hands right now, rest assured, the blame for this present mess lies almost entirely on the stale, stagnant Republican leadership willing to offer Trump the emperor’s crown for a few pieces of silver.

In other words, the Democratic Party is still on the high moral ground right now. But they could easily sink down if they keep pursuing this direction in a haphazard way. At this moment, the ones who want impeachment are simply shortsighted and are not counting the potential cost to our nation if things went the wrong way. But GOP members of Congress don’t seem to care enough about it at all. Many of them KNOW without a doubt Trump should be removed from office, but refuse. They would just as soon see our nation destroyed as to convict Trump of what appears to be obvious evidence of obstruction of justice they ALL know occurred, evidence that AG Barr just happened to “gloss” over in his coddle toward his new master, Trump. Mueller seems to have indeed laid out a map for this direction, a map which AG Barr completely ran roughshod over at several recent opportunities to be objective. He chose the opposite, casting his job responsibilities completely to the four winds, and probably his legacy as well.

The stiff-necked Republican leaders block truth and justice!

So, why are Republicans so stiff-necked and hard hearted? This is why. Because if Trump goes down, so do they! Like an old proverb, they cast in their lot among them so they could all share in the booty… the power! And as a result, it is completely his political party. Trump raped, ransacked, and completely stripped the Republican leadership of its own power so they could all share in HIS power! So now, it is all about retaining that power he stole!

That means, they don’t care
for the best interest of our nation, my friends! The Republicans in
Congress acting on behalf of protecting Trump are NOT American Patriots at all!
Maybe they once were, but they lost their compass and are wandering blindly in
an aimless desert right now. They are complete and total frauds now because a
true American Patriot would never, EVER have put our democracy in jeopardy like
the Republicans are doing right now and have categorically done the last two
years! The Republican leadership (Trump Party) are morally bankrupt and the
impeachment issue simply continues to bring this truth out like no other
because Complicit McConnell has already signaled his pure and unadulterated
obstinance and what he will “make” the Republicans in the Senate do in the case
of Impeachment by the House. Oh, and what is his “spin” for letting the wannabe
take over our government? It’s ALL in the name of protecting America from the
socialists… what a complete CROCK! What total BS, seriously!

Impeachment, as I see it, is a very bad choice at this time for the our nation. I hope the process is completely slowed down soon. We cannot afford to give Trump the ability to personally manufacture the worst case scenario stated above. It could be a fatal blow to our nation and democracy as we know it.

Impeachment is bad for the Democratic Party

Here is why Impeachment is bad for the Democratic Party: even if impeached, Trump won’t be removed from office. The Republican majority Senate won’t allow it, so what is the point? To make a statement? To bring voters over the line toward Democrats? Most people have already made up their mind regarding the Mueller investigation, and about Trump. It won’t gain voters by passionate pursuits and it might actually agitate them. It could also inflame Trump supporters and could add moderates toward his re-election bid as well.

Trump is a master manipulator. What do we think he is going to do with Impeachment? This is like a smorgasbord of options for Trump to use, anytime he wants and it fills the Democratic plate with nothing but added unknowns. That is NOT how to run a victorious campaign for 2020.

Impeachment now is a very risky Democratic Strategy

Again, what impeachment does to the Democratic Party is far less important than what it could do to the nation!

But setting that aside for a moment and focusing on the strategic element for the Democratic Party for a moment, here is the issue: like any court type issue, impeachment proceedings ring a bell that cannot be un-rung. So, once it starts, there is no turning back.

So, let’s play out this scenario from a strategic point of view the House predictably impeaches Trump. Now it goes into the Senate controlled by Republicans. The Democratic Majority House JUST scored their touchdown, are ahead by one, and now kicked the ball over to the Senate. They just gave away control of a CRITICAL timing issue to the Republicans who are now in complete control. What a gift!

That is like giving the ball to Tom Brady with four minutes to go in a close game. How comfortable would that feel? It is now in the complete control and hands of Trump and Complicit McConnell how and when they want to use that timing card to create, distract, and obfuscate the rest of the way to the election. They could not get a greater gift from the Democrats than that! Not only is it potentially devastating for our nation and places our democracy at very high risk, it could be a major strategic blunder for the Democrats as well. (Donald J. Trump, I seriously doubt you will ever read this, but if you do, please don’t ever flatter yourself that I used one of the greatest quarterbacks in history as the example here. THAT part of the analogy was NOT meant for you at all).

Keeping this pre-impeachment investigation in the House for now is the best Democratic strategy. Investigations should absolutely continue, but tempered very carefully and strategically. Full-court press all the time simply exhausts everyone. Take Mueller’s example as a directive. He trickled information out slowly and carefully with one indictment at a time so it wouldn’t send our nation into shock-waves.

I say, keep gathering information. Don’t run to the press with everything immediately. Transparency is vital, but over-transparency is detrimental to the cause. People are tired of pursuits they think are either partisan, or will end in a stalemate, and they know an impeachment will appear to be partisan and will end in a stalemate. Most Americans just don’t want to deal with it right now. Some do. But they are the die-hards. Most don’t and that is the audience you should be playing to. That is my opinion.

Keep the investigation going, even open up an impeachment inquiry, but move slowly and carefully. For pure strategy, bump it right up to the election time and impeach before they can have a trial in the Senate. Then if the horrible nightmare of Trump winning a second term actually occurs, on the probability the Senate goes BLUE, there is a direction to proceed with a trial and he could be removed from office altogether. Otherwise, if prior to 2020, he will be acquitted, and that will most certainly be used to bolster Trump in the 2020 election, possibly enough to hand him a victory.

Once again, Speaker Pelosi is absolutely brilliant and KNOWS what she is doing by wanting to slow things down. I just hope she is able to slow it down enough! The cry for impeachment that is NOT well thought out is getting louder by the day.

We most certainly can defeat Trump without it. I am very confident of that. Trump has dug his own grave many times over if all of us, Team America, will just look at the obvious already before us!

Summary

Speaker Pelosi is absolutely right: impeaching Trump, as much as
he is completely unfit to run a democracy, would be very divisive, and our
nation does not need that right now. She is looking out for the good of this
nation and I respect her viewpoint. In addition, she seems to be a VERY good
pragmatist and strategist. The possible worst-case scenario above causes me to
conclude that the people passionate about impeachment are not considering what
is in the best interest of our nation right now. I don’t believe it is
intentional. I just think it is severe shortsightedness. We need 20/20 vision in all things right now! We cannot
afford big mistakes that give away the game in the final few minutes of the
last quarter!

The only exception to this issue is if it is absolutely crystal clear enough Republicans will cross the line and support impeachment and conviction, enough to be well over 2/3 of the Senate. But I believe McConnell must show that support as well, and I cannot imagine that occurring.

I absolutely urge the Democratic Party to listen to Speaker Pelosi and line up behind her on these issues. She KNOWS what she is doing, my friends. Seriously! Stop fighting her.

The above section is written in the form of an assumption that on some future date, I will have declared a candidacy for President and will have won the 2020 election. I have not declared any candidacy for President yet.